


An Attempt to Tip the Scales

by januarylily



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-09-19 06:42:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9422912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/januarylily/pseuds/januarylily
Summary: Cassandra Mars is starting her freshmen year at Neptune High in the wake of all the Mars drama. Having to navigate high school in Veronica's shadow isn't going to be easy. But sometimes, it's just easier to pull the Band-Aid off quickly.





	1. First Day on a Brand New Planet

Gentle snores filled the darkened room before an annoying buzzing alarm began to reverberate. A dainty hand escaped a prison of blankets before slamming the snooze button on the alarm and retreating back under the covers. That was the fourth time Cassandra had hit the snooze button. She just hoped that neither her dad nor her sister had heard it. The petite blonde lay still under her blankets listening for any sounds of them outside her door. Nothing. She heard nothing, which caused her to breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe she could actually pull off not going to her first day of high school and hopefully, she could continue to do so every day of her high school career.

Suddenly, the covers she had buried herself under were ripped off from her body causing her to curl up into a ball and bury her face in her pillow at the sight of the bright light. However, her quick motions didn't stop her from catching the culprit. "Dad," Cassandra groaned, trying to swat her father away from her. "I'm trying to sleep here."

"I know. I've been in here watching you for the last ten minutes," Keith Mars answered to which his daughter groaned again. "Your sister is ready and has been waiting for you."

"But I'm sick." Cassandra faked three small coughs and looked over to her father with sad puppy eyes.

"Sounds like a cough. A fever too?" Keith asked as he pressed his hand against her forehead.

"I think so," Cassandra said attempting to sound sick before giving up a few more coughs. "I don't think I can go to school today."

"Well, just to be on the safe side, I think I have a rectal thermometer somewhere around here. I've heard they're more accurate. Only the best for my baby girl."

"Don't even think about it," Cassandra hissed as she popped up from her sleeping position into a sitting one.

"Looks like someone is miraculously better for her first day of high school," Keith chuckled.

Cassandra rolled her eyes as her father gently patted her knee. He told her that she had fifteen minutes to get ready before her older sister left for school which would force her to take the bus to school...or worse, he'd drive her. She didn't know which was worse: showing up to one's first day of high school on the school bus or with one's outcast sister or father. Either way, her high school career was doomed before she even stepped foot into Neptune High. She wanted desperately to make a good impression on her peers but she knew that wasn't going to happen.

Still, she had to try and that started with the perfect outfit for her first day of high school. Cassandra had this outfit planned out weeks ago when she had spent what little money she had earned over the summer on clothes so that she could dress to impress. Her older sister had told her that it was a waste of her time and money, but she hadn't listened. Cassandra grabbed her outfit from her desk and threw it onto her unmade bed. A teal polo shirt, a preppy white ruffled mini-ish skirt, and a pair of Etnies skate shoes completed her ensemble.

Once she was dressed she ran across the hallway to the bathroom she shared with her sister to quickly brush her teeth and put a little makeup on. She was in the middle of putting some mascara on when Veronica called for her.

"I'm leaving in five minutes, dweeb." Veronica then poked her head into the bathroom and gave her younger sister a somewhat disapproving look. Veronica was Cassandra's older sister by eighteen months and two days and she never let her forget it. She was also part of the reason that Cassandra had absolutely no hope of surviving high school. Long story short: being a Mars in Neptune, CA sucked, there was no doubt about that.

"Is there something wrong?" Cassandra asked.

"Yeah, what are you wearing?" Veronica questioned.

"I wanted to look nice on my first day."

"You look like you're trying to fit in with the 09ers."

"First of all, I think being a Mars has ruined any chances of that. Second, the 09ers used to be your so-called friends."

"Exactly my point used to be. Not to mention that I know how they view freshman. Now, chop chop. Dad made you breakfast."

Her sister disappeared into the hallway once more as Cassandra stood to examine herself in the mirror. This was probably as good as it was going to get. Besides, at least she didn't look fashion-challenged like Veronica. She smoothed out her long, straight, blonde hair once more before walking down the small hallway in the apartment to the kitchen which was connected to the living room because of the open concept design.

Cassandra saw a plate of scrambled eggs and her favorite chocolate chip pancakes sitting on a plate on the counter. She moved to swipe the plate but her dad must have seen her reaching because he snatched the plate and dug his fork into the eggs. She stood there with a somewhat shocked look on her face. There wasn't another plate on the counter. Veronica had said that her dad made some breakfast for her but where it was she hadn't a clue.

"Where's mine?" Cassandra asked.

"You snooze, you lose kiddo," Keith said with a mouthful of chocolate chip pancakes.

"Aren't you the one who's always saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?"

"It is," Keith said after he swallowed. "That's why there is toast wrapped in a paper towel and a banana right there."

"You know that I hate toast and bananas."

"If you're not going to eat them I will," Veronica said as her hand moved to grab them.

Cassandra didn't move to grab the food. So Veronica unwrapped the toast and took a bite out of it right in front of her. "Starting high school off right: starving," Cassandra said rolling her eyes.

"On the bright side you have four years to perfect it," Veronica quipped. "Let's blow this popsicle joint, Cassandra."

"Have a good day, girls," Keith said before placing a gentle kiss on each of his girl's foreheads.

"Peace up, A-town down, Pop," Veronica said sarcastically.

"Someone needs to lay off the Usher," Cassandra groaned.

"Says the girl who sings it in the shower: Yeah, yeah, yeah," Veronica mocked in a sing-song voice which caused her younger sister to groan.

Veronica pushed Cassandra toward the door as their father called for Veronica to drive safe and that he'd see them after school. The girls both worked for their father's private investigation business. More like Veronica actually did the work. Cassandra pushed a stapler around, in her opinion. Not that she was envious of what Veronica did. High school jobs were supposed to be boring. That was part of the ritual in Neptune if you weren't from money. You found a job you despised to make enough money to put you through college so you could get a different job you didn't hate as much. She had so much to look forward to in life.

If she had to say what she envied most about her sister at this very moment, it was that Veronica was closer to getting out of the hell that was high school than she was. Ever since her father had accused Jake Kane of killing his daughter Lily, who happened to be Veronica's best friend, and thus causing him to lose his job…well, Cassandra knew that her chances of enjoying high school were slim.

Once both girls were inside the car, Veronica sped off toward the high school-not that either girl really wanted to be there. Cassandra tightly gripped the handle on the inside of the door, not because Veronica was that terrible of a driver; but because she was so nervous. It wasn't fair that she had to start high school out this way. High school was supposed to be a time to reinvent one's self, but she would never get that because of her last name in this stupid town. She had spent most of the summer begging to be allowed to go to boarding school, despite the fact that she knew they could never afford it.

Cassandra turned toward her sister, "Why don't we just not go."

Veronica chuckled and shook her head. "You know we can't not go. It's kinda the law."

"There's always homeschool."

"Cassandra, no matter where you go to school, it's still going to be like this. People are going to hate us. You might as well rip the Band-Aid off quickly."

"You know I'm the kind of person that takes them off slowly."

"Sorry, kiddo." Veronica reached across the car with her right hand and ruffled her sister's hair. Cassandra groaned before her sister returned her hand to the steering wheel. "If it makes you feel better, you're not alone in this."

"It doesn't," Cassandra muttered before she sunk down further into her seat.

When they pulled into the parking lot, Cassandra made sure to pull her sunglasses out of her backpack. She put them on and ducked down further in her seat, hoping that no one noticed her. Veronica parked the car and sighed. "You ready?" Veronica asked.

"You go on without me." Cassandra didn't want to hurt her sister, but she knew that if she had any chance of survival it was without her sister. Veronica didn't seem too hurt. Instead, she just nodded and walked out of the car. Cassandra breathed a sigh of relief, but Veronica walked to her side of the car.

"Band-Aid," was all she said before the older Mars girl walked toward the school.

Cassandra slowly released the breath she had been holding while she sat in the car waiting for the coast to clear. A bus full of kids pulled in front of the school to her right. No, now definitely wasn't a good time. So, she simply sat there; but that proved not to be a good idea either. A few parking places away to her left, Logan Echolls, pulled into the parking lot. She was officially trapped. Cassandra tried to pull the collar of her polo shirt up high enough to cover her face, but it was no use.

Logan slammed his hands down on the head of Veronica's car, causing Cassandra to squeal. She sat there stiffly for a moment as he peered inside the car. Slowly, she pulled down her aviator shades. When Logan recognized her he smirked and cocked an eyebrow. He looked like Christmas had just come early. Bravely, Cassandra motioned with her arms for him to move on. He motioned between his eyes and her with two fingers. She understood the message...he was going to be watching her. Thankfully, he moved on; but Cassandra knew that she had just signed her own death sentence.

A few minutes later, Cassandra decided to pull the Band-Aid off. She stepped out of the car and adjusted her backpack before she slowly made her funeral procession inside Neptune High. Her only consolation was that no one seemed to be looking at her, but that probably had something to do with the big crowd gathered around the flagpole. So, Cassandra was sure to avoid that area and headed for the building she was pretty sure her homeroom was in.

Inside the building, Cassandra knew that she had to get to the social studies wing, which was on the opposite side of the school; but other than that, she really didn't know where she was going. So, she paid more attention to the classroom signs than to those who were walking in the hallway. She ran into several people, but the worst run in was the last one. She ran straight into Duncan Kane and she would have fallen flat on her ass had he not reached out and grabbed hold of her arms. "Whoa there," Duncan said.

"Oh. My. God. I am so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going. It won't happen again. I swear, Duncan. I am so sorry," Cassandra began to ramble, which made Duncan chuckle.

"It's fine, Cassandra."

She looked at him quizzically as she pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're not mad, are you?"

"No."

"Well, this is embarrassing."

"You're a freshman. It happens. Now, where are you headed? I might be able to point you in the right direction." Cassandra bit her bottom lip, unsure of whether or not trust him. Afterall, he was Veronica's ex-boyfriend...not that he had ever been unfriendly to her. Quite the opposite actually. He had always been nice to her, but Cassandra still shook her head. "C'mon, I won't bite. I promise."

"I-uh-Mr. Nelson's room."

Duncan started to laugh, which made Cassandra very uncomfortable. Was he messing with her? But he quickly apologized, "Sorry, sorry. If you wouldn't have run into me, you probably would have found it by now. It's the next door on the left."

"You've got to be kidding me." Cassandra's hands flew to her face as she groaned in embarrassment. With her face still covered, she walked over to the nearest locker and banged her head against it. "Just kill me now and put me out of my misery."

Duncan walked over and leaned against the locker beside the one she was hitting her head against. "I promise, it gets better."

"Not for me." Cassandra looked over to Duncan with eyes almost the same exact shade of blue as his, her bottom lip quivering a bit. Duncan mulled her words over for a moment. It was obvious he was unsure of what to say. So, Cassandra continued, "It's obvious I've said too much already. I should get to class."

Cassandra pushed herself off the lockers and around Duncan when he called her name, "Cassandra!" She looked over her shoulder to see him looking at her. He then responded, "Good luck!"

She slowly nodded her head before she turned away from him and walked toward Mr. Nelson's room. She found the desk in the back corner and sat down. The classroom was empty aside...even Mr. Nelson wasn't there. When the bell finally rang, students began to slowly trickle inside; but yet there was still no sight of their teacher. There was pounding from underneath his desk and one of the boys walked over to check it out when Mr. Nelson jumped out and scared the crap out of the poor kid. "Works every time," the relatively young teacher, with a bald head said with a wink.

The teacher handed out their schedules and Cassandra found that she stayed with Mr. Nelson for Global Studies. So, while the other kids in her homeroom talked about how their summers went, Cassandra simply sat in the back with her arms folded across her chest. No one made a move to come over and talk to her. They probably were all scared of being ostracized with her.

Finally, the bell rang and it was time to change to first period. Cassandra stayed in the same desk she had occupied during homeroom. It gave her a good view of everyone who walked through the door. She recognized a lot of her old classmates, but there were two middle schools in Neptune, so there were some she didn't recognize. Despite the fact they had never met, it didn't stop them from knowing who she was and staying clear of her. Although, it didn't stop Cassidy Casablancas from taking a jab at her as he walked in the classroom. Cassandra tried to ignore him, but it wasn't easy.

Mr. Nelson finally called the class to order. He had a big smile on his face as he stared a few desks ahead of Cassandra to Cassidy Casablancas. "Someone does it every year. Someone sits in B.O." Nelson shook his head. "Looks like this year the lucky winner is Casablancas."

While Cassandra couldn't see his expression, she could tell from the way that the kid went rigid that he was mortified. She scoffed under her breath. It served him right after the way he had tormented her last year. Cassidy began to fumble with his words, "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"B.O, you sat in it."

"No, I didn't."

"You shouldn't lie, Casablancas."

"I'm not. I'm not sitting in B.O." It was obvious the kid was frustrated, but Mr. Nelson only laughed.

"Big Orange, Casablancas. You sat in Big Orange, the only desk in here with an orange seat." The class erupted in laughter as Cassidy looked around to notice that all the other desk seats were blue. His was the only orange seat and his seat was bigger than the rest of them. "Now that that's settled, let's begin."

Classes seemed to drag on forever. Normally, Cassandra liked the first day of school. It used to be a chance to catch-up with those she hadn't seen all summer. Not to mention that she was one of those nerds who liked new pencils and notebooks, but even a three-subject notebook didn't seem to be helping. When lunch finally rolled around, she was actually dreading it. It was the last place that she wanted to be. At least in the classroom, she had a place she was supposed to be. Lunch was a sea of people who wanted nothing to do with her and she didn't have a clue how to navigate through it.

With a sigh, Cassandra got in the lunch line with her arms folded across her chest defensively. She watched as Cassidy did one of those weird guy handshakes with his older brother, Dick, who was in Veronica's class. Dick then pushed Cassidy away, it was obvious the kid wasn't even welcome at his own brother's table. She looked who else was at Dick's table: Duncan, who was mostly keeping to himself, and then there was Logan, who was looking at her coldly. Cassandra cracked her neck and look straight ahead again, pretending she has seen nothing. "Ignore them and they'll ignore you," she muttered to herself.

For lunch, Cassandra got an order of cheese fries with marinara sauce, a side salad with French dressing, a scoop of cookie dough for dessert, and a bottle of Propel flavored water. It probably wasn't the healthiest lunch; but given how terrible her day was already, she could use some comfort food to help her deal with the rest of her day. With her tray in hand, Cassandra walked up to the steps that led down to the courtyard and observed the lunch tables, unsure of where to go-or even where an empty table was. She tried to ignore the glares from the 09ers table, which she stood beside when Logan Echolls called her name. "Ignore him. Ignore him."

She moved to take a step down the stairs, but Logan quickly intercepted her with a piece of pizza in his hand. "Well, well, if it isn't Baby Mars."

Cassandra didn't say anything. Instead, she tried to sidestep him; but once again he blocked her path. "I'm just trying to have a friendly conversation here, Baby Mars." It was then he reached down and swatted the tray out of her hand. She watched as her food tumbled to the concrete and bit her lip in frustration.

"Please move, Logan," Cassandra whispered, trying to hold back tears of frustration.

"As you wish." He gave a mocking bow toward her before he knocked into her shoulder. She was surprised when he slapped her ass; but it wasn't until something began dripping down her leg that she realized what he had smacked her ass with his pizza. Logan pointed to her and started laughing at her. Dick and the other 09ers, except for Duncan began to join in the laughter.

Knowing that her white skirt was stained with pizza sauce on her butt, Cassandra took off in a sprint for the bathroom. Once inside the bathroom, she locked herself in a stall, sat down on the toilet, and began to sob. Today was horrible. How was she ever going to get through the rest of it?

A few minutes later, there was a knock on her stall door. Cassandra didn't answer in fear that it was an 09er coming back to taunt her. Instead, it was Veronica who said, "Cassandra, I know you're in there."

Cassandra unlocked the door and pulled her sister into the stall with her. She wrapped her arms around her sister, who stood there shocked for a moment before returning the hug. "I can't do this," Cassandra softly cried in her sister's arms.

"Logan's a jerk."

"He doesn't even really know me."

"He doesn't have to, sadly. I'm sure he'll find someone else to move onto and torment soon."

"But what if he doesn't?"

"He will. I'll make sure of it."

Cassandra sniffled before hugging her sister tighter. "I just want to go home."

Veronica was silent for a moment before she rubbed her sister's back. "Go to the office and call Dad. Tell him you're having period issues. The mental image will freak him out enough to actually come get you." Cassandra chuckled. "There's my baby sister. And take this." Veronica pulled away from her sister and pulled off her jacket and then her zip-up hooded sweatshirt. She handed the sweatshirt to her sister. "Tie this around your waist and no one should know the difference."

"Thanks," Cassandra sniffled again as she tied the green sweatshirt around her waist.

"And kiddo-you can't go home every day, you know that, right?"

"Yeah." Cassandra sighed before leaning against the stall wall. "Today was just awful."

"Tomorrow could be worse."

"But tomorrow I'll already know how terrible it can be."

Veronica hugged her sister and pressed a kiss against the top of the girl's head. The two girls then left the bathroom. Veronica headed back to lunch and Cassandra headed for the office, ready to end this god-awful day. Tomorrow, she was going to come back stronger...now just to figure out how to do that.


	2. That Kind of Night

Cassandra lay on the couch with Backup curled-up at her feet and a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in her hand. She had dragged her fluffiest pillow and comforter into the living room so that she could watch You've Got Mail. She had changed out of her preppy outfit and exchanged it for a plaid pair of pajama bottom shorts and a grey sweatshirt. The heating pad lay discarded on the floor just in case her dad walked in. Although, she had her suspicions that he hadn't completely bought her period excuse, but lucky for her, he was too uncomfortable about the topic to argue with her.

The lock on the door jiggled and then unlocked before it swung open to reveal Veronica crossing the threshold. "Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, again?" Veronica questioned before she walked across the living room and got down on her haunches to pet Backup. "You have a serious problem, dude."

"Yeah, it's called high school," Cassandra groaned as she rolled her head back against the pillow, looking up at the ceiling.

"Hey, on the positive side-you're one day closer to being done. That is...unless you decide to keep playing hooky. Then, you're just prolonging your sentence."

Cassandra reached for the throw pillow on the floor before throwing it at her sister. "You suck, you know that?"

"Says the girl who can't get through a single day of high school." Veronica gave her sister a knowing glance to which Cassandra responded by rolling her eyes. The older Mars sister reached for the younger one's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I think this is the point where I'm supposed to tell you it gets better."

"Does it?"

"No idea. I'm still trying to figure that out for myself. Now scootch over. I have some time for Meg and Tom before I go to work." Veronica didn't wait for her sister to move. She practically sat on top of Cassandra, forcing her sister to roll away if she wanted any chance of breathing properly. "Pass me the good stuff," Veronica said holding out her hand for Cassandra to pass her the ice cream.

While Veronica took several bites of Cassandra's ice cream, the two sisters snuggled together as Tom Hanks showed up in Meg Ryan's bedroom on the TV screen. "I mean, c'mon, what guy would actually do that?" Veronica asked with her mouth full before swallowing. "Guys are more likely to avoid you like you have the Plague."

Cassandra sighed. "It's cute."

"Get your head out of the clouds kid. You and I both know how things really go. If there's one thing we've learned from Dad…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Veronica playfully slapped Cassandra's legs. "C'mon, let's go take Backup for a walk and get you away from Meg and Tom. They're messing with your head."

Slowly, Cassandra forced herself into a sitting position before Veronica literally dragged her little sister off the couch. With a grunt, Cassandra crashed to the floor. For a few moments, she lay there, pretending she didn't exist but Veronica walked over and started tickling her. "Stop! Stop!" Cassandra wheezed between fits of giggles, but Veronica just continued to tickle her. "Mercy! Uncle! Whatever the hell you want me to say!"

Veronica stopped. "Damn, the catch-all." She then smirked at her sister. "Let's go. I do think the fresh air will do you some good."

The older Mars sister held her hand out for the younger one to grab. Cassandra accepted her sister's hand and was pulled to her feet once more. Despite the fact that she was wearing socks, she still slipped her socked feet into a pair of sandals as Veronica got the leash attached to Backup. The girls then left the apartment and headed for the beach.

When they got to the beach, Veronica had to stop Cassandra from a mad dash toward the ocean. "Stop being so dramatic," she told her sister. "It really wasn't that bad."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at her sister. "Logan Echolls slapped my ass with pizza in front of the entire school. How is it not that bad?"

"Ok, so maybe it was kinda bad, but we're Mars girls. Bad is kinda attracted to us."

The younger Mars girl folded her arms across her chest. "Do you think it's too late for boarding school?"

"If we could afford it? Yeah, I think it's a little late."

"Do you think Dad would go for the whole homeschool thing? I mean, I could do all my work at the office and then help him and stuff while you're at school. Win-win."

Veronica shook her head. "Yeah, so not gonna happen."

Cassandra groaned. Veronica handed her the tennis ball that was in her pocket. The younger Mars sighed as Veronica unleashed Backup. Cassandra chucked the ball as far as she could and Backup took off in a sprint down the beach to catch it. The ball landed in the sand and Backup ran several yards past the ball before the turned around and ran toward it again. That made Cassandra laugh. Veronica smiled at her sister, wisely saying nothing, knowing that it would only put Cassandra on the defense.

Backup ran back to the girls. Veronica bent down and retrieved the ball from him before she gave it a good toss. Backup ran past the ball again and both girls started to giggle. "Gotta love him," Veronica laughed.

Cassandra smiled and nodded her head. As they walked down the beach, they came closer to a boy flying a model airplane. He waved at them. Cassandra looked at Veronica and asked, "Who is that?"

Veronica looked at the boy hesitantly for a moment before she waved back. She then answered her sister's question. "I think his name is Wallace. He's in my class. He's new."

"Oh, so you mean, he doesn't know that he's supposed to hate us."

Veronica sighed, "Basically." She then wrapped an arm around her sister. "But I don't know, he seems different."

"Like good different or bad different."

She shrugged. "I don't know yet. Just different. But enough about that. We should go. We're already late for work."

Cassandra's nose crinkled in disgust. "But I went home sick today. I shouldn't go to work. I might be contagious."

Veronica raised an eyebrow at her younger sister. "Wow, I didn't know how contagious fake period symptoms were."

The younger Mars girl pouted and gave her sister her best sad puppy-dog expression. "Please, Veronica?" Cassandra could tell that her sister was trying her best not to cave, so she blinked several more times.

Veronica swore under her breath and Cassandra knew that she had her. "Fine," Veronica groaned. "But I'm not gonna do your work. It will be there waiting for you when you get back."

"You're the best. You know that?" Cassandra wrapped her sister in a hug. Veronica just chuckled and hugged her sister back.

The Mars girls headed back to the apartment. Veronica went to work and Cassandra returned her attention back to You've Got Mail while snuggling on the couch with Backup. When You've Got Mail finished, she popped Sleepless in Seattle into the DVD player. It was a ritual to watch those movies back to back. It might have even been considered a sin to not watch them back to back. Although, Backup didn't seem to enjoy Sleepless in Seattle quite as much as he liked You've Got Mail.

Cassandra eventually dragged her butt off the couch to feed Backup before she grabbed herself a bowl of cereal. Slowly, she poured the Waffle Crisp into the bowl and then the milk. She grabbed a big spoon from the drawer rather than a little spoon because little spoons were for wimps when the front door opened. In walked her father.

"Hi, Daddy," Cassandra said before she scooped a bite of cereal into her mouth.

"How're you feeling?" Keith Mars asked genuinely as he closed the door behind him. Cassandra simply shrugged her shoulders and walked back over to the couch and plopped her butt down on it. Keith just nodded his head. "And how was school?"

The Mars girl looked at her dad and shrugged again. "It was fine, I guess."

"Really?"

There was something in her father's tone that told her he knew something. But she tried to play it off cool. "Yeah, sure. I mean, as fine as high school can be, I suppose."

"Huh." Keith stood in her line of sight to the television with his arms folded across his chest. Cassandra rolled her eyes. He did know more. And there was only one way he could possibly know more.

"She told you, didn't she?" Cassandra asked flatly. Keith just shrugged his shoulders, mimicking what she had done earlier. But it was clear that Veronica had told him how her first had really gone. "Unbelievable. Can't anyone around here keep a secret?"

"I've been known to keep a secret or two." Keith then crossed the room and sat down on the couch with his youngest. "But I think the better question is why didn't you tell me?"

Cassandra crossed her arms defensively. "I didn't think you'd let me come home." Her lower lip jutted out. "I've never been so humiliated in my life, Dad. I mean, I thought last year was bad, but if every day is gonna be like that...I can't do it."

"Maybe tomorrow will be better."

"Maybe it will be worse." Cassandra shot her father a pointed look and he just smiled.

"You won't know unless you try, kiddo. Mars' aren't quitters. When we get knocked down, we get right back up and persevere." Cassandra slowly nodded her head. "And if it gets too bad you need to tell me. I can't help you unless you tell me."

"Ok," Cassandra responded rather weakly before she leaned over and rested her head on her father's shoulder.

"Life's not easy, kiddo. God knows that I know that. But sometimes, it is what you make it. If you let others push you around then that's what they're gonna do. Just don't give them that power over you." He gently kissed the top of Cassandra's head. "Now as much as I'd love to watch Sleepless in Seattle with you for the thousandth time, I have to get packing. Gotta go to El Paso tonight."

"But Dad…"

Keith placed a finger over Cassandra's lips, signaling her to listen and not complain. "I don't like it any better than you do, kiddo. But we need the money. Not to mention that someone's counting on me. If everything goes well, I'll be back tomorrow. If not, the night after."

Cassandra just nodded her head and sighed. "Sometimes I wish things would go back to the way they used to be."

"You and me both. But unless you've figured out how to make that time machine yet then we just gotta keep living." Keith patted his daughter's leg gently before he stood up and walked to his bedroom to put a few things together in a bag and grab his toothbrush.

A few minutes later, he appeared back in the living room. "Now, I'm not telling you this to upset you, but Celeste Kane came and asked me to look into something for her. I'm telling you this because you and I both know how your sister can get. Just make sure she stays out of trouble."

Cassandra shook her head. "I thought that was supposed to be her job as the older sister."

"Yeah, but just because she's older doesn't mean she's always the more rational one." Cassandra nodded her head at her father's logic as he walked closer to her. She stood up and he hugged her. "I love you, Cassandra."

"Love you too, Dad," Cassandra said as she hugged her father, holding him extra tight for a moment. Despite everything that happened, she knew that her father had tried his best to hold their family together. She was grateful to have him as her father.

An hour later, Cassandra's phone buzzed. It was a text message from Veronica Meet me outside with Backup. She closed her pink flip phone before she grabbed Backup's leash from the counter and hooked it to him. They then headed out the door.

Cassandra walked him around the pool and around the side to find Veronica parked in her car. Veronica rolled her window down. "Get in loser, we're going shopping," Veronica said with a cheeky grin.

"You do realize that I know you're quoting Mean Girls, right?" Cassandra stated, folding her arms across her chest.

"Just get in. We have a philanderer to go catch. C'mon."

Cassandra groaned. "Fine, but don't think that I'm doing this because I enjoy it. I'm doing it because Dad said to keep an eye on you. Just so you know the second I can, I'm getting out of the family business."

The younger Mars opened the passenger's door and let Backup hop in first before she unleashed him and then crawled in herself. "I have a feeling I'm going to regret this," Cassandra muttered.

"Will it make you feel better if we get some stakeout food?" Veronica asked as she backed the car up and then pulled it into drive. Cassandra just nodded her head which made her sister laugh.

After a Taco Bell run, they pulled up outside Jake Kane's house. This didn't sit well with Cassandra. The fact that her father had been the one to mistakenly go after Jake had ruined them. So it didn't make what they were doing any easier. In fact, Cassandra wanted nothing more than to run away screaming, but that would draw too much attention. So, she shoved another taco in her mouth.

Then Jake Kane left his house. Veronica kept a safe distance as they tailed him to his office. Jake Kane owned Kane Software, where video streaming had been invented and perfected. It had made him a billionaire and those that worked for him millionaires overnight. Jake was quite beloved in Neptune, which was why the Mars clan became quite hated. The sins of her father had been passed onto her. It wasn't fair, but it was what it was.

They watched as Jake left the building for his car once more and again, Veronica tailed him. "You really think he's up to something?" Cassandra asked as they followed him.

"Well, his wife sure is," Veronica responded. "And I'm starting to think so too."

Cassandra's brow furrowed as she took a sip of her Pepsi. "Why?"

"Because Jake Kane's house is the other direction."

Cassandra nodded her head. Veronica did have a point, but maybe he was headed to the grocery store or something. She chuckled at herself before she whispered, "And that's while I'll never make a good PI."

Eventually, they pulled into the parking lot of a somewhat shady looking motel The Camelot. Veronica put the car in park and pulled her camera onto her lap before she took a sip of her soda from Taco Bell. "Good thing you didn't have any homework," Veronica teased her sister. "If we did this tomorrow night, you'd have makeup work from skipping school."

The younger Mars just rolled her eyes at her sister. Having done this with her sister before, there was a pillow and blanket in the backseat. She pulled them to the front seat and reclined it. She covered herself with the blanket and closed her eyes. "Wake me up if anything interesting happens," she said with a yawn.

Cassandra hadn't yet fallen asleep when the sound of low rumbling surrounded them. "Turn it off," Cassandra muttered.

"Yeah, can't really do that," Veronica said, her voice revealing a hint of stress. "But you can go tell the PCHers to stop because you're sleeping."

Cassandra's eyes opened wide. "You have got to be kidding me." Slowly she pushed herself off the seat and looked out the back window. Sure enough, they were surrounded by about a dozen bikers. She plopped back onto the seat and groaned. "It would be my luck to have a run in with the 09ers and the PCHers on my first day of high school."

"If we're getting technical, it's one a.m... So it would be your second day of high school."

"We're about to die and you're getting technical?" Cassandra caught sight of the guy called Weevil motioning for Veronica to roll her window down before she buried her face in her pillow. Her theory was that if she couldn't see what was happening, then she wouldn't know what was happening.

"Car trouble, miss?" the voice asked.

Cassandra could tell that Veronica was trying to play it cool as her older sister responded, "Yeah, as a matter of fact. I think it might be a loose belt, but if you wouldn't mind checking under the hood…"

The younger Mars head another guy begin to speak when suddenly he screamed. Her head immediately popped up to see that Backup had jumped through Veronica's window and had latched himself onto one of the PCHers. Suddenly, another guy, she was fairly certain was called Felix, walked around from the front of the car threatening them.

Cassandra was about to bury her head in her pillow again when Veronica pulled a taser out of her pocket and tasered the guy. Cassandra's eyes widened as Weevil shook his head, clearly unimpressed by his friends. Veronica then called for Backup to chill. He did. "How about we call it a draw?" Veronica said to Weevil.

Weevil scoffed and motioned toward his friends on the ground. "Baby, it's too late for that." Cassandra took the opportunity to bury her face and start praying. She wasn't really the praying type, but they were going to need a miracle to get out of this situation alive.

"Tell you what," Veronica rationalized with him "You leave that kid alone at school for one week and I'll make sure your boys walk."

After some back and forth, Weevil and Veronica struck a deal. Veronica got Backup back into the car as the PCHers headed back to their bikes. The older Mars girl tapped the younger one. "You did really well with the acting like you were scared shitless. I think it was a perfect sell. If I could give you an Oscar, I would."

Cassandra looked at her sister with an expression that showed she wasn't amused. "I wasn't acting."

Veronica reached for her soda. "Yeah, I know," she chuckled before she took a sip of her soda. "We're gonna have to work on that. Think of high school like an ocean full of sharks. You just gotta boop 'em on the nose and show 'em whose boss, otherwise they'll eat you alive."

Cassandra opened her mouth to respond, but Veronica said, "Hold that thought. I think we have something interesting here."

Veronica pulled her camera out and both girls watched as Jake Kane walked out of the motel room. He looked somewhat disheveled compared to what he had looked like earlier. He definitely got some. Jake was a few steps outside the door when he turned around to talk to the person still inside. "Alright lady, let's see ya," Veronica whispered.

But the only thing visible was the woman's hand. She took a picture of that as Jake Kane walked away.

"Now what?" Cassandra asked.

"We wait," Veronica stated as if it were obvious. "She's gotta come out eventually."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure we're getting paid to follow Jake, not whoever is inside. I mean we did technically find out that he is seeing someone. Just not who that someone is. Rome wasn't built in a day you know. Meaning that this is where I draw the line in the sand of stupid. We almost died once tonight. I'm surprised I'm even saying this, but I'd actually like to live to see a second day of high school before I die. Plus I really want my bed. It's calling my name. Can't you hear it? Cassandra...Cassandra…"

Veronica sighed. "Oh, fine. But you owe me."

But the younger Mars continued to voice the calls of her bed. "Cassandra...Cassandra…"

"I think you need to see someone if you're hearing your bed talk."

"Can't you hear yours? Veronica...Veronica...Veronica…"

Veronica shook her head. "We're going, we're going, oh great Bed Whisperer."

Cassandra gave a slight smile at Veronica's teasing. Maybe Veronica was right. Maybe she just needed to stand up for herself. Something she wasn't very good at. But maybe, just maybe she could survive this high school thing. There was only one way to know. She first had to survive day two.


End file.
